$21.5M Settlement to Fund N.J. Superfund Cleanups

In New Jersey, a Montgomery Township technology company will pay $21.5 million to clean up two Superfund sites under a settlement reached Wednesday with state and federal environmental officials.

Princeton Gamma-Tech, which designs and manufactures high-technology systems for X-ray micro- and image analysis, settled a pollution lawsuit with the EPA, the U.S. Justice Department, and the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The funds will be used to clean up contaminated land and water at the Montgomery Township Housing Development, and the Rocky Hill Municipal Well federal Superfund sites.

New Jersey will receive $7.3 million under the settlement involving Gamma-Tech's plant in Montgomery. Of that amount, $6.2 million will reimburse the state's costs for cleanup activities at the two sites, including construction of a groundwater extraction and treatment facility.

The remaining $1.1 million will pay for compensation for environmental damage done at the sites, primarily contamination of groundwater with trichloroethylene.

EPA will receive $14.2 million under the settlement. The agency will seal private wells within the contaminated area, as well as start work on a groundwater treatment plant at the sites.